Workshop | Sala Martinetti, Università degli Studi di Milano | 9–11 September 2026
From 9 to 11 September 2026, the Department of Philosophy at the Università degli Studi di Milano will host the international workshop “Ethics and AI: Critical Perspectives & Actionable Strategies”, co-organised by Mario Verdicchio (University of Bergamo), Peter Remmers (Universität Osnabrück) and PhilTech (UNIMI).
The workshop brings together researchers from philosophy, computer science, law, and technology studies to discuss current challenges in the ethical governance of artificial intelligence.
The workshop aims to bridge conceptual analysis and practical approaches to AI ethics, exploring topics such as trustworthy AI, responsible AI governance, fairness, explainability, regulatory frameworks, human oversight, and the societal impact of intelligent systems. By combining critical perspectives with actionable strategies, the event seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on how ethical principles can be translated into the design, deployment, and governance of AI technologies.
The programme features contributions from an international group of scholars, including Jacqueline Bellon (Universität Tübingen), Helena Bodem (Independent/Darmstadt), Alessandro G. Buda (Università degli Studi di Milano), Bruno Gransche (KIT Karlsruhe), Simone Penasa (Università di Trento), Andrea Perin (Università di Trento), Giuseppe Primiero (Università degli Studi di Milano), Peter Remmers (Universität Osnabrück), Christian Schreiner (Universität Osnabrück), and Mario Verdicchio (Università degli Studi di Bergamo). The workshop is organized by Mario Verdicchio and Peter Remmers.
The workshop represents an important opportunity to strengthen international collaborations and advance interdisciplinary research at the intersection of philosophy, ethics, and artificial intelligence.
PROGRAMME
Wednesday, September 9
2:30pm Welcome and introduction with Peter Remmers and Mario Verdicchio
3:00pm Mario Verdicchio “Very Old Wine in Very New Bottles: The AI Summer and the Resurgence of Perennial Ethical Dilemmas”
4:15pm General discussion
5:00pm End of day 1
Thursday, September 10
10:00am Giuseppe Primiero & Alessandro Buda “Conceptualising and Checking Functional Responsibility for Socio-Technical Systems”
11:15am Coffee break
11:45am Bruno Gransche “Semantic Erosion and the Closure of Claims: Forcing square pegs into round holes in AI Discourse“
1:00pm Lunch break
2:30pm Jacqueline Bellon: “Misalignment or misuse? About misunderstandings between humans and machines“
3:45pm Coffee break
4:15pm Simone Penasa “Embedding ethical principles in the AI design via regulation: Is the EU AI Act the way forward?”
5:30pm End of day 2
Friday, September 11
10:00am Helena Bodem “Attempting to Navigate AI Discourse: A Guide to Directing One’s Attention”
11:15am Coffee break
11:45am Christian Schreiner “Distributed Critique of AI and Automation: About the detriment of topographical conceptualisations of AI and its impact”
1:00pm Lunch break
2:30pm Peter Remmers: “Seeing AI for what it is: The roles of ethics between clarification, critique and constructive contributions”
3:45pm Coffee break
4:00pm Concluding remarks and end of workshop